Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A Remarkable Femme d'Un Certain Age

Christine Lagarde

Meet the perfect conjuncture of femininity and feminism, Christine Lagarde.

As of yesterday she is the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the first woman to head the institution since its founding in 1944. Today she leaves her post as France's Finance Minister as rumors swirl about who could possibly replace the remarkable Madame Lagarde.

As I've mentioned before, I have been a Christine Lagarde groupie ever since she arrived back in France from the United States where her last job was president of the Chicago-based law firm, Baker & McKenzie.

I think women of every age can learn a great deal from her. She is confident, brilliant, straight-talking and glamorous. She dares to wear pink! She loves Chanel, her Birken bag, her jewelry and her scarves. She wears skirts, high boots, and dresses. She sees absolutely no conflict between her femininity and her principles as a feminist.

When asked last night on French television if she thought being a woman brought more to the table, she didn't hesitate for a moment. "Absolutely," she said.

In an October interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week she said: "I think we inject less libido. . . And less testosterone into the equation. . . It helps in the sense that we don't necessarily project our egos into cutting a deal."

Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who has met Madame Lagarde on several occasions says her style is "both politically forceful, but personally charming and likable."

As you are no doubt aware, she replaces Dominque Strauss-Kahn who is awaiting his trial in New York City for allegedly attempting to rape a chamber maid.

A few Christine Lagarde facts and figures:

Age: 55

Education: Attended the private Holton-Arms prep school near Washington, D.C. and has law and political science degrees from prestigious French universities.

Forbes: In 2010 the 43rd most powerful woman in the world. (That's about to change.)

Mother: Two sons in their 20s.

Marital situation: Divorced.

Romantic situation: With a handsome man since 2006.

TV appearances: Daily Show with Jon Stewart. (She gave him a beret.)

Firsts: The first female Finance Minister in the G8.

Exercise: Yoga every morning, swimming. (She was a champion swimmer in her teens.)

43 comments:

She certainly stands out as a wonderful role model for more mature and younger women - elegant, intelligent and a strong, but not overbearing personality. That last, I think, is something women often find particularly difficult to achieve in a male dominated professional environment.

YOU BEAT ME TO IT! and you put it all so well I am glad you did! I LOVE her, she is a big role model for me and should be, for the world(no less. She now might be the whole shining star in terms of , as you put it, femininity and feminism. And by the way, even her romantic life is great! Bravo Ms. Lagarde and good luck! And thak you Letitia for putting it so well. So much fun ahead!

OK. She's my hero now too. Taking on the big boys in their Finance cave. And I think she balances the pink with a no-nonsense haircut and her native muscularity. Perfect balance, perfectly appropriate.

I agree with everyone here and wonder if the IMF chose her, beyond all of her qualifications, because she was a woman. Perhaps in order to make a statement in light of the recent scandal. Just wondering...

Oh, dear. Sorry to add a negative note, but -- yes, she looks great and is so charming, but because of my own work I've had to follow her influence on the eurozone bailouts very closely: her policies have been disastrous. Now she is going to head up the IMF, one of the toughest economic postings in the world, though she has never had a moment's training as an economist. She got the job because the EU, led by Sarkozy, demanded the job stay as ever with a European. And it had to go to a European who would go on pouring IMF billions into the weakest eurozone countries. And so Sarkozy's Finance Minister got the job. Her style and sex are diversions from the more important facts surrounding her appointment.

We're on the same page here, mon amie. I was so thrilled to see CL on the cover of the paper - I'm just beside myself. She's fabulous and such an inspiration to women in l'age and, more importantly, to our sons and daughters.

Just because a woman's clever doesn't mean she needs to be a dowd. Just because a woman's beautiful doesn't mean she can't be clever. Just because she's over 50 (40, sometimes!) doesn't mean she's past her sell-by. Just because she has a uterus doesn't mean she can't stand with the big boys and play the game just as good (but with some different tactics) Feminism won us a lot, but lost us the right to be everything and at once. Thanks for putting this post out. What a role model!

Hi Tish -- love this post on Christine. Great photos! I wanted to write about Christine on Rock the Silver, but you did just a wonderful job, I just linked over here. I know my readers will enjoy seeing such a beautiful silver icon.